Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 106 Visit to Austria-Hungary
No matter what the outcome will be, in Carlo's view now, marriage with the Austro-Hungarian Empire is definitely one of the most correct options.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire was one of the five traditional European powers (Britain, France, Germany, Austria and Russia), and had a very strong foundation in both economy and industry.

Although it was defeated by Prussia a few years ago, the powerful France was also defeated by Prussian cannons. From this comparison, we can see that the Austro-Hungarian Empire at that time was not as bad as imagined.

In fact, when it comes to the several wars between France, Prussia and the Austrian Empire, the power of the Prussian Krupp cannon was not possessed from the beginning.

As early as 1859, France was still the country with the most powerful artillery technology in continental Europe. The Franco-Austrian War made the Austrian Empire see the power of French artillery, and it changed its mind and built new and more powerful artillery.

The artillery replaced by the Austrian Empire played a role in the Austro-Prussian War a few years later, causing the Prussian army to suffer from Austrian artillery.

If the Austrian army had not had a large gap with the Prussian army in terms of rifles, the Austro-Prussian War would probably not have ended so easily.

At that time, the Prussian army had begun to equip itself with breech-loading rifles with faster loading speeds, while the Austrian army was still using muzzle-loading rifles with paper-wrapped bullets.

In terms of firing rate, for every shot fired by the Austrian musketeers, the Prussian army could counterattack with 4 to 5 shots.

Coupled with the old-fashioned tactic of firing squad, Austria's failure was actually inevitable.

Because the Austrian Empire suffered heavy casualties due to the firing squad tactic, the French government did not even have time to intervene before the Austrian government requested peace talks with Prussia.

It was precisely because of the pain suffered by Austria's artillery that the Prussian army reformed its artillery technology and armed itself with new steel artillery on a large scale.

The result is very obvious. In the Franco-Prussian War last year, Prussia's newly manufactured Krupp steel cannon dealt a fatal blow to the French army and caused the powerful Second French Empire to collapse in an instant.

From this period of history, we can see that the gap in comprehensive strength between Germany, France and Austria was not that big at this time. The military industries of Germany, France and Austria were all at the top level of this era, which was a great help to Spain.

Since the decision had already been made to form an alliance with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Carlo naturally had nothing to hesitate about.

No matter what Archduchess Sophie is like, as long as the Austro-Hungarian Empire behind her can provide help to Spain, Carlo's goal will be achieved.

If Archduchess Sophie's personality is what he likes, then everyone will be happy. Even if she is not what he likes, Carlo can keep a few lovers he likes and ensure that he will not be treated badly.

At least Archduchess Sophie's appearance is absolutely acceptable. Even if there is no emotional foundation, this marriage is at least acceptable to Carlo.

If the other party's appearance is not acceptable, Carlo may not be willing to accept this political marriage. After all, appearance will be passed on to the next generation.

On March 1871, 3, at the invitation of the Austro-Hungarian government, Carlo announced a diplomatic visit to Austria-Hungary to promote economic cooperation between Spain and Austria-Hungary.

In the eyes of ordinary people, this is just a normal diplomatic visit between two countries. Although Spain is not a great power, it is still a long-established colonial country and is definitely one of the best among non-great powers in Europe.

Economic cooperation between these two powerful countries is mutually beneficial, and there is no unusual reaction among the people of the two countries.

But in the eyes of royal families and government officials from other countries, this is not just a simple diplomatic visit.

Because the king would not be present during an ordinary diplomatic visit, this was more like a meeting between the royal families of the two countries.

Why did they meet? Of course, it was because of some cooperation between the royal families, such as Carlo's marriage, which had attracted the attention of the entire European royal family.

In fact, Carlo himself is not that important. In theory, a king’s marriage would not attract the attention of all European royal families.

But if it is a country of Spain's level, it is not surprising to attract the attention of the royal families of some powerful countries.

It is no exaggeration to say that the royal families of Britain, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia are all paying attention to Carlo's marriage. If Carlo's father, Vittorio Emanuele II, is added, it means that all the major European countries are paying attention to this matter.

The reason is certainly not because of Carlo, but because of the Spanish Kingdom behind Carlo.

The Kingdom of Spain was not weak in strength, but its geographical location was too important. Britain naturally did not want Germany and Russia to marry Spain, because this would likely undermine its strategic layout in the Mediterranean.

The French are also paying attention to this. After all, who wants to be attacked from both sides? If the royal families of Germany and Spain come together, France, sandwiched between Germany and Spain, will be in trouble.

Although Russia does not have such a strong intention to form an alliance with Spain, it is willing to do so if it can put some obstacles in the way of the British.

The only remaining Austro-Hungarian Empire was naturally willing to marry Spain. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was in the same situation as Italy, with its entire coastline along the Mediterranean.

This also means that if the powerful Austro-Hungarian Empire wants to develop its navy, it will definitely be hindered by Britain.

If the Austro-Hungarian Empire's navy wanted to leave the Mediterranean, it had to depend on the attitude of the British. How could the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which was also a great power, tolerate this?

If Spain is on good terms, then if something major happens in the future, the Austro-Hungarian navy will have hope of entering the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar.

The attitudes of different countries towards Carlo's diplomatic visit were obviously different. However, considering the conflicts between Austria-Hungary and Italy, this marriage was actually acceptable.

For the British Empire, an alliance between Spain and Austria-Hungary was much better than one with Germany or Russia.

For France, it is good news that it has avoided being attacked from both sides.

After traveling by sea and land for several times, Carlo and his party finally arrived at Vienna, the capital of Austria, the center of power of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

It is worth mentioning that although Carlo’s last trip to the Kingdom of Italy was just a normal trip, it was more like a formal diplomatic visit. A large number of officials arrived in Italy with Carlo, and a certain cooperation agreement was reached between Spain and Italy.

However, this nominal diplomatic visit did not bring so many officials with him. Apart from a few hundred guards who protected Carlo's safety, there were only some servants and a small number of diplomatic officials accompanying Carlo.

As soon as Carlo arrived at the border of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, he was warmly welcomed by the Austro-Hungarian government. An Austro-Hungarian army followed Carlo and his entourage to provide protection and ensure that Carlo's visit would not cause any problems within the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

After all, there were still some relatively radical people in this era, and various assassinations occurred from time to time, mainly targeting senior government officials and royal family members.

After all, Carlo is the king of Spain. If something goes wrong on the territory of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it will have a huge impact on both the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Spain.

Therefore, Carlo's safety is definitely one of the topics that the Austro-Hungarian government attaches the most importance to, and it is also the reason why the Austro-Hungarian Empire directly mobilized part of its troops for protection.

The train arrived all the way to Vienna, the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Carlo met with senior government officials and royal family members of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire was a relatively unique dual monarchy on the European continent, and its imperial government was also relatively unique.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire can be completely seen as two parts, one part consisting of the original Austrian Empire, and the other part consisting of the Kingdom of Hungary with a high degree of autonomy.

As the Emperor of Austria-Hungary, Franz Joseph I was the Emperor of the Austrian Empire and the King of the Kingdom of Hungary.

Although it looked like a single country, the government of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was divided into two parts: the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary.

One country, two governments. This also represents the biggest problem of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at present, namely the contradiction between the Austrians, as the main body of the empire, and the Hungarians who desire greater autonomy.

As the main body of the empire, and with a more powerful industry and economy, the Austrians naturally looked down on the Hungarians.

The Kingdom of Hungary had a strong agricultural sector, a considerable portion of which was transported to the Austrian Empire and supplied to the Austrians.

This also leads to the Hungarians feeling unbalanced. The grain they grow here is transported to Austria, and the large farmers don’t even get much compensation. Isn’t this too much?
The various conflicts between the Royal Hungarian Government and the Austrian Imperial Government also led to the direct disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after its defeat in the war. It was divided into several small countries including Austria and Hungary. The Austro-Hungarian Empire, one of the five major powers in Europe, thus became history.

In fact, the decline of the Austrian Empire can be seen from the Austro-Prussian War. The legal system of the Austrian Empire came from the Holy Roman Empire, which once ruled the entire German region and most of Italy.

The Habsburg family had always been in charge of the throne of the Holy Roman Empire, and the Duchy of Austria at that time was also one of the most powerful states in the Holy Roman Empire.

But with the rise of the Kingdom of Prussia, Austria's rule over the Holy Roman Empire gradually faced more severe challenges.

Under the threat from the powerful enemy France, the Holy Roman Emperor at the time had to give up the throne of the Holy Roman Empire and become the Emperor of the Austrians. This is also the origin of the establishment of the Austrian Empire.

The history that followed is more familiar. The Austrian Empire was completely defeated in the competition with Prussia. They were also completely excluded from Germany and watched their competitor Prussia become the master of Germany.

Although it formed the Austro-Hungarian Empire together with Hungary, it still maintained its strength as a great power. However, the main ethnic group in the Austro-Hungarian Empire was not many Germans, but there were a large number of Czechs, Slovaks, Hungarians, etc.

This problem has always troubled the Austro-Hungarian Empire. If it cannot be solved, it will be like a time bomb buried in the body of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which may explode at any time and cause the disintegration of the entire empire.

The current Prime Minister of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is Gyula Andrassy. His previous position was Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hungary. It is said that he was also the lover of Princess Sissi.

Of course, leaving aside such rumors whose origins are unknown, the fact that the Hungarian Prime Minister served as the Prime Minister of the Austro-Hungarian Empire already meant that the Austrian Empire had to pay attention to the opinions of the Hungarians, and they could no longer exercise overwhelming rule over the Hungarians as before.

After a brief meeting with Austro-Hungarian government officials, Carlo was led by members of the Austro-Hungarian royal family to one of the largest palaces in Europe, the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna.

The history of Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna can be traced back to 1743, when Queen Marie Theresa ordered the construction of a palace in the southwest of Vienna.

Because there is a spring near the palace, drinking the spring water will make you feel refreshed, so the palace is also named Schönbrunn Palace. It is the summer palace of the Habsburg royal family of the Austrian Empire and one of the royal residences.

The entire Schönbrunn Palace is very large and deserves to be one of the largest palaces in Europe. The entire palace has about 1400 rooms. Due to its long history, it also has a variety of architectural styles, even including oriental classical architecture, and is characterized by luxury and grandeur.

In Schönbrunn Palace, Emperor Franz Joseph I of the Austro-Hungarian Empire held a grand welcome ceremony for Carlo.

Regardless of the purpose of Carlo's visit, as the King of Spain, he was entitled to enjoy the grand welcome banquet hosted by the Austro-Hungarian government and royal family.

Although Spain has weakened, that was also compared to the period when the sun never sets on the Spanish Empire. The current Kingdom of Spain is still one of the more powerful countries in Europe. Compared with small and medium-sized countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands, the Kingdom of Spain is obviously more worthy of the respect of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

It is no exaggeration to say that among all European countries, except for the six countries of Britain, France, Germany, Russia, Austria and Italy, Spain should be ranked seventh in Europe, at least in the eyes of all European countries.

Of course, one of the reasons why Carlo was so warmly welcomed was that he was half Austrian aristocratic.

Although Carlo's mother, Archduchess Adelheid, is no longer with us, his bloodline from the Austrian nobility cannot be faked.

The European nobility was originally a family connected by bones and tendons. Whether it was the King of Spain, members of the Savoy dynasty, or the bloodline of the Austrian nobility, it was enough to attract the attention of the Habsburg family.

Franz Joseph also appeared at the welcome party for Carlo, but he only had a brief conversation with Carlo and then left on the grounds of being busy with government affairs.

Carlo was also happy and comfortable. He enjoyed a dinner accompanied by the Habsburg royal family, and then went into the room that had been arranged for him to rest.

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(End of this chapter)